Dawson Seitz of the South East Athletic Club Bantam AAA Tigers skates with the puck against the Airdrie Xtreme in the Alberta Major Midge Hockey League playoffs at the Hockey Hounds Arena in Medicine Hat on Feb. 27, 2020.Supplied

The Oil Kings selected Seitz in the first round, despite the 15-year-old having played just seven regular-season games with the South East Athletic Club bantam triple-A Tigers of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League.

Seitz took an elbow in the face and broke his jaw two games into the year. In his first game back from the injury, he was hit from behind and broke his collarbone.

“It was tough, I learned to battle through a lot of adversity,” Seitz said. “I became a lot stronger mentally than I was before dealing with the injury in my second game of the year and then in my first game back.

“At times, I was getting a little too worried and thinking about the draft a little too much, but it doesn’t really matter how high you go as long as you go to the team that you really like and Edmonton is a team that I’d love to go to.”

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

In his seven games Seitz scored seven goals, then added three goals and two assists in five post-season games as the Tigers were eliminated in the second round of the AMBHL playoffs.

“We thought he was probably one of the best five forwards in the draft,” said Oil Kings director of scouting Jaime Porter. “We knew there were a couple of teams (drafting) in front of us that felt the same way we did and we weren’t sure how it was going to fall into place.

“That was probably the best outcome and it was the first good surprise of the day.”

Porter and his staff were able to watch Seitz in his brief time on the ice and were immediately impressed.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, and likely still growing, Seitz already has the physical attributes to play in the WHL. He has exceptional offensive ability, having scored 23 goals and collected 31 points in 33 games during his first season with the SEAC bantam triple-A Tigers in 2018-19.

“I was so excited to get drafted by the Oil Kings, it was an unbelievable feeling,” Seitz said. “The Oil Kings sound like an unbelievable organization. But the hard work starts now and I really look forward to trying to make their team in a couple of years.”

Born and raised in Medicine Hat, Seitz came up through their minor hockey system and won a peewee double-A provincial championship with his team a few years ago. He scored 60 goals that season, which set him on a course for the WHL. The following year, Seitz figured the WHL could be an achievable goal.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“In my first bantam season, I had a really good season,” Seitz said. “I was big and strong and fast, and I realized I could play in the WHL possibly one day.

“I think skating, shooting and my compete level are my top three attributes.”

Seitz is not eligible to play in the WHL on a full-time basis until the 2021-22 season. He will be moving up to Edmonton this upcoming season to play midget hockey with the Northern Alberta Xtreme.

Healthy towards the end of this season, Seitz is looking forward to attending the Oil Kings rookie camp this fall once COVID-19 pandemic concerns have lapsed. For now, however, he is staying as close to home as possible and preparing for the upcoming year as best as he can under the circumstances.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“I was 100% for the last couple of games of the year,” he said. “Just missing the whole year, I had to get my timing down a bit and then once we got rolling into the playoffs, I was 100%, for sure.

“Now, I’m just kind of doing my own workouts at home, lot of push-ups and sit-up and bike rides. I go for run outside, go rollerblading and try to stay as active as I can. We live on the edge of town so there are a lot of paths around so I rollerblade around.”

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the WHL to hold the draft online this year and Seitz was following it along on the league’s stream as the picks were coming in. The Oil Kings had a first-round pick and then did not select again until the fourth round. In total, they selected 11 players in the draft.

“I woke up really early, I had a hard time sleeping that night,” Seitz said. “My family and I sat on the couch and we set up my computer on the table and watched it go. It was an exciting morning.

“I saw my name pop on the screen and I was so excited, I was in shock. It was an unbelievable feeling.”

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.